


Sore Eyes

by hopclair



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, F/M, Heartache, M/M, Minor Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, No Happy Ending Fest, Pining, Sad Ending, Unrequited Love, Will Byers Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:00:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24277015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopclair/pseuds/hopclair
Summary: Will Byers is so in love with Lucas Sinclair.Why doesn't he love him back?
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, Will Byers & Lucas Sinclair
Kudos: 18





	Sore Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by heather by conan gray! 
> 
> this is for the ileyd gc. i love u guys asf.

It’s cold. 

Will can feel it in the way that it bites his flesh and makes his fingers ache. The eighteen year old is freezing but he can’t help but run away. He’s staring at the line of cars outside of Mike’s house and he doesn’t know why he’s upset. The party was gathered in the Wheeler household since Karen was throwing a senior party and everybody was having a great time. There were so many people and Will should be distracted. El wouldn’t let go off his hand and she’d be sure to include him. 

But his eyes still wandered and it always landed on Lucas.

Lucas Sinclair was probably the prettiest boy Will Byers has ever laid his eyes on. He was honest, loyal, funny, caring, wonderful, smart and he was taken. That small reminder made his throat knot up and he’s trying to swallow the lump down. It made sense that somebody as great as Lucas was taken. He deserved love. He deserved love so much. But it still hurt that he wasn’t the one making him flustered. That it was all Max’s doing. 

Will feels a nudge on his shoulder and he looks over at the stranger. It’s not a stranger. It’s Lucas.

Lucas was his best friend. He loved the party equally but he always thought that Lucas understood him better. He was always careful with his words and he was always checking that the other was comfortable. He wasn’t as volatile as Max and he wasn’t as careful as El. They knew each other better than anybody. That’s why Will knew that he shouldn’t ever tell him about his feelings.

“Hey, you alright?” He questions and Will only nods. He feels like he’s fourteen again and the party was arguing because of the sudden upspring of girlfriends. He remembers how Lucas was the only one that bothered to check on his feelings and his heart only tugs at the memories. 

“Just needed a breather. El thinks I’m a dancing machine.” He lies and he hates how lying to Lucas has gotten easier throughout the years. He feels like an idiot for coming outside, he feels like an idiot for even coming to this party. He didn’t know what possessed him into thinking that he could handle seeing Lucas and Max act like a couple throughout the whole party. 

He doesn’t catch how he shivers since he’s so deep in his own thoughts. 

“Jesus, Will. You’re freezing.” The oldest of the two comments, noticing how his small frame shakes and before Will could even comment --- Lucas Sinclair was draping his jacket over his shoulders. He’s resting it comfortably and even rubs his back with a smile. 

His eyes go wide and he looks over at him. He doesn’t know why he’s this shocked. Lucas would walk through fire for his friends. He catches how his lips quiver and he instantly notes that the hero is cold too. 

“Lucas.”

He shakes his head, already knowing where his best friend was going. “I’m good with this sweater. Trust me. You’re the one out here with nothing but a t-shirt.” 

It’s December third when Lucas gives him the letterman jacket. It’s a friday and it’s close to midnight.

“It looks better on you than it ever looked on me.” He laughs out and the Byers’ heart thumps at the compliment. He knows it’s nothing but friendly. But the way he smiles with genuinity in his eyes, has him falling in love all over again. He swore he fell in love with him every single time he smiled or did the bare minimum. 

Nor Lucas or Will hear the front door open. They’re almost engaged in their own world when they’re suddenly interrupted by the bright girl. 

“Lucas! Come on! Karen’s letting us play beer pong.” The redhead shouts and both of them are looking back at the source. Will watches as a smile graces on the other’s face and he feels a pang in his chest. He catches how the couple were wearing matching sweaters and he feels hurt. 

It’s deep, almost like a stab wound straight to his chest. 

“Do you want to come with us?” He asks him but Will is shaking his head. He doesn’t like the taste of beer and he knows that if a drop of alcohol came into his system, he’d start sobbing due to the feelings that weren’t mutual. “Okay. I’ll be back, yeah? Don’t stay out too late.”

Will swears that he can hear his heart break with every single step that Lucas takes away from him.

Max was bright. She was so much brighter than Will could ever be.

When anybody asked Will if he had a crush on anybody, he’d shake his head with a forced smile. He didn’t have the guts to admit that he liked anybody. But he did. He liked Lucas Sinclair and he knows when everything started. It was the Snowball dance, they were in middle school and when Max kissed him -- He felt like his heart had shredded to pieces. 

He remembers pulling away from the girl that asked him to dance and rushing to the empty hallways. Lucas doesn’t realize, neither does Max. But he’s crying in the hallways and his stepsister is right by his side. Her and Mike Wheeler. There’s no need for words. They both know. 

Lucas would complain about how annoying Mike would get, but he’d never realize how he did the same. His phone lockscreen had been Max for the past years and he even talked about giving her a promise ring if they ever made it. Will remembers crying himself to sleep after those conversations. 

Sometimes he wished he could hate Max. He really did. But Max was pretty, she was kind and although she could be a bit rough at times; she was absolutely amazing. She had bright locks and she had the softest blue eyes he’s ever seen. She was a beauty and it made sense that Lucas liked her. 

No. That Lucas loved her. 

He was  _ mesmerized _ by her. 

At times Will would feel silly. He would feel silly for ever thinking that Lucas could possibly like him the way that he did. Why would he even waste his breath on him when he had Max? Will could never and would never compare to the pretty fireball. 

He spends the whole night outside. 

It’s a few months later and it’s their graduation. The entire class is throwing their caps and they’re basking in the moment. They did it. After years and years of struggling, they finally did it. The party are all ecsta

The party is all ecstatic, group hugging and Will can’t help the laugh that leaves his mouth when they’re squeezing him in the middle. He can feel his mom and his brother taking pictures of this tender moment and soon, they’re all unglued. He can see the couples exchanging kisses and hugging each other tightly. He sees how Dustin is squeezing into Suzie and how Mike is carrying El. 

But his heart stops at the next sight. 

Lucas, always so romantic, had dipped Max and had planted a soft kiss on her lips. Will knew that Max was going to call him mushy and tease him for weeks on end, but still. 

It makes him sick to his stomach. 

El, who's now on the ground, notices her brother’s expression and she’s wrapping her arms around him. El’s still crying over her graduation but Will’s crying over the fact that he’s absolutely in love with Lucas Sinclair. He can’t stop crying into his sister’s graduation gown and he hates how much his heart aches.  _ Why can’t he love him back? Why can’t he be Max? Why can’t be as pretty? _

There’s a celebration party at Mike’s place, but Will doesn’t have the strength to go. He feels absolutely drained at the sight and he decides that it’s time to head home, listen to his old mixtapes and simply lay in his bed in silence. Joyce holds him tight and Hopper even congratulates him, but there’s nothing that makes him feel better. Not even the constant words his sister tells him. 

Throughout the whole summer, the entire party is adamant on putting Will and Lucas in the same room. Lucas notices something’s wrong, but Will and him have a different type of relationship. Whenever Will needed him, he’d come around and vice versa. The now graduated teen, neglects to go anywhere where Lucas could possibly be and only hangs out with El & Dustin these days. 

“He’s depressed or something. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.” He hears Joyce tell Hopper. He had snuck out in the night to grab a cup of water but now he was listening to their conversation. “He curls in bed and pretends to be asleep. I know something happened… but i’m too scared to ask him. I don’t see him hangout with anybody except Dustin these days. Do you think he had a fight with Mike?”

He slowly retreats to his bedroom, no longer thirsty. 

It’s a day before his departure and he’s packing excitedly. Leaving Hawkins was the only thing that brought him some sort of comfort. He had faith that he’d leave this town and the feelings he had for Lucas would eventually disappear. Will didn’t tell anybody, but he wasn’t joining the party in California for college. They had all decided on California since Max came from there and they wanted to see everything that it could possibly entail. But he couldn’t handle it. 

So, he was going to New York. 

El was nosey, so El found out. And she wasn’t hesitant to tag along with him. 

Currently, he’s home alone. He was enjoying his afternoon by himself and packing whatever necessities he might need. He had gone through pictures and through old drawings of campaigns. A nostalgic smile crossed his face and he simply buried it in his drawers. That was the past. He was going to leave Lucas in the past and it didn’t matter what was the cost. 

There’s a loud knock on the front door and he’s ignoring it. He’s pretty sure that it’s one of Hopper’s friends. But soon, it’s harder and it’s getting on his nerves. 

“I’m coming.” He calls out, hoping to kill the knocking a bit. It doesn’t take him long to unlock it and once he does, there's Lucas Sinclair.

He’s hovering over the door and Will feels small. His eyes are bloodshot red and he looks like he’s been crying his eyes out. Will tries to swallow the want to comfort him. He was avoiding him. 

“Lucas.” He says, almost in shock. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here because I heard that you changed colleges.” He states and the music in the background is the only thing that’s playing between them. “Is it true, Will?”

“Who told you that?”

“... Is it true, Will?” He repeats and Will chews on his lower lip. He knows that whatever his answer is, Lucas can read through him. That’s why he doesn’t answer. 

His best friend is pushing past him and he only watches Lucas’ reaction. He watches how he paces and he closes the door behind him. This was going to happen sooner or later. 

“Why would you do that? Why have you been avoiding me this whole summer? Why are you switching colleges? What happened to Lucas and Will till the end?” He has so many questions and Will only has one answer.

Everything changed.

“Will, answer me please.” Lucas begs and that’s what breaks Will in half. 

“It’s not Will and Lucas anymore.”

“What?”

“It’s not Will and Lucas anymore.”

It takes him a few seconds to process what he means. 

“Is it because of Max? Will, I was bound to get a girlfriend--”

He cuts him off. “Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, it’s that?” Will has tears in his eyes and he hates how Lucas doesn’t follow what he means. “I’ve been in love with you since we were kids and you never once noticed. I had to sit down and watch how Max lived everything I wanted to. I wanted to be your first kiss, I wanted to be your first date, I wanted to be your boyfriend… Lucas, I’m in love with you.”

There’s utter shock on his face. He didn’t know any of this was happening. It makes a bitter laugh leave Will’s body and he almost hates how cold he seems. 

“W-why didn’t you tell me?”

The old mixtape stops rolling as tears stream down his face. Will hates how bitter his words taste.

“Because you don’t love me back.”


End file.
